U-M quarterback questions put to rest

September 27, 2008|By AL LESAR Tribune Staff Writer

How much improvement can a football team make over a bye week? Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez is hoping it's enough to bridge a significant talent gap between his Wolverines and No. 8 Wisconsin. One positive is that left tackle Mark Ortmann, who missed the loss to Notre Dame because of a dislocated elbow, is back in the lineup. That happened just in time because his replacement, Perry Dorrestein, sustained what Rodriguez called "a freak practice thing," and could miss the game. "What we need is continuity," Rodriguez said. "We're looking for stability." One area that's stable now is quarterback. Rodriguez has finally settled on Steven Threet as the starter and Nick Sheridan as the backup, rather than a two-quarterback system to run Michigan's version of the spread offense. "Having Steve there gives our guys a chance to rally around him," Rodriguez said. "It also helps Steve. He knows his role. He knows what's expected. He's an accurate passer. The good thing about this offense is that we're able to tailor it to the different styles of quarterback. We can accentuate the player's skills." Wisconsin, which had a bye week after a big win at Fresno State, refuses to take Michigan's struggles for granted. There's a reason the Badgers haven't won in Ann Arbor since 1994. The Wolverines have a tendency to play well in the Big House. "The problems they had against Notre Dame (a 35-17 loss) happened because of turnovers," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "Those things can be easily corrected. "From a coaching standpoint, we saw the progress they've made on offense. They've settled in at quarterback and their wide receivers can do some special things. We've seen that team start to come together." Rodriguez will have some extra motivation to put the skids on the Wisconsin offense -- it's personal. He and Badgers offensive coordinator, Paul Chryst, are old friends, dating back more than 20 years ago when they worked together as assistants on the West Virginia staff. "He's a very smart guy," Rodriguez said of Chryst, who was a buddy on the basketball court. "He gets guys to play at a high level." This will be a meeting of diverse offensive systems. Michigan employs the trendy spread offense while Wisconsin uses the old-school, power attack with running back P.J. Hill (379 rushing yards) leading the way. Quarterback Alan Evridge (36 of 60, 526 passing yards, three TDs) is learning his way around the quarterback position with Garrett Graham (11 catches, 154 yards, three TDs) his favorite target.